Cheap or Frugal?

Okay, it is time to punish someone other than my poor husband. You see, I have a bit of a money saving obsession. I play a game at the grocery store called “How much free or practically free stuff can I get?” I play it at CVS too and am proud to say I was one time handed back 5 bucks cash on top of my free items there. But back to poor Jim. I line everything up and make him look at all the stuff I got for free, all the stuff for 50 cents and under, and all the stuff for a dollar or less. He acts super excited but I am pretty sure he is only doing it to make me feel good!

 I do it all by tracking sales and using coupons. Even my kids know when asking for something to first ask if it is on sale and if I have a coupon. Actually, I do most of it with not much effort simply by checking out some websites where it is done for me. One of them is listed in my links on the side of the page and is called Coupon Mom. She simply asks that for her free service, you turn around and give some to charity. Since many of my residents have low to no income, I am able to give a lot of free stuff away to help them make it through the year. We almost never spend any money on toiletries or cleaners and get lots of free food. If you want to learn more, let me know and I can help you.

In the meantime, let me show you what Jim faces every time I come home from the store: Here are my finds during trips to Vons and CVS a few weeks ago. And to show you how crazy I am, let me just tell you that I actually went back again and got a few more of those items yet again. Anyway, here are the 50 cent and under items:

And now for my free stuff:

So what do you think? Cheap or frugal? Maybe both!

More pictures!

For those of you dying to see some pics from Ruth and James wedding or those who still have not seen enough pics of my kids, check out some updates on snapfish. I think this link will work: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=235496716/a=90994912_90994912/t_=90994912 If not, I will update again. You can buy prints off the site or (even better: free) you can snag them and download them. Enjoy!

PS-It opens to the wedding album but you can click on the left to view other albums.

No longer a baby

We have had some momentous occasions in our house occur and both happened last week. While our family (and all you poor people who get my numerous texts) rejoiced greatly in this, this mama was a tiny bit sad as I realized my babies are actually not that anymore. So without further ado, please join us in celebrating:

Our Girl Sarah lost her first tooth. It was very smooth and easy which was a huge relief. Jim and I were a little nervous how our drama queen would handle any blood or dangling by a thread action. She had her teeth cleaned last Monday at the dentist and then that night it just popped out while she was snacking. We hooped and hollered and called daddy home immediately. Then we spent some time convincing Em that none of her teeth were loose and it is very bad to lose a tooth before you are five. Thankfully, the tooth fairy considered our middle child’s left out feelings and left a dollar for her when she gave Sarah 5 dollars. The tooth fairy was also very sensitive to Sarah’s late night cry session of feeling like she might die if the tooth fairy actually took her tooth, so the tooth was left to be placed safely in the baby book (now where did I put that darn baby book!?!). Check out Sarah’s new look!

And the tooth that she is still emotionally connected to:

And now for the other change in our family. Our boy got a hair cut. It was way past time! I still can’t get over how much his whole look changed. He went from baby to little boy instantly. Thanks, Lindsey, for your help!

Before:

I know, pretty, huh!?!

And now, introducing my little boy:

And that is what happened last week in our house!  Stay tuned for a big update about Em!

Check out these cute kids!

Quit nagging me! Actually, keep nagging me so I will get going on this blog. I have now decided to start doing brief ones and get going rather than writing novels and feeling overwhelmed.

Anyway, I am finally getting all the kids’ pictures caught up thanks to Picture People. We are doing Sarah’s 5 yr old ones tomorrow (almost in time for her to turn six) and Em’s four yr old the next day so keep checking back for more. For now, here are the last several sittings including a recent one we did as a surprise for Jim for Father’s Day. You will notice Aaron not in a lot of pictures so enjoy the few he is in for now. Have I mentioned boys are WAY different than girls!?!

Click images?cg=207294587117495770 to check us out. Once there, you will see login up in the right top. Under Login put: laurarad_98@yahoo.com and the password is: 2girls (password is pre-Aaron in case anyone is wondering!) Grandparents and family, feel free to order any if you want to but no pressure!

Simply click on dates in the upper left hand corner to see other sessions.

Added Note:

If you read this before today, the link stopped working so I added further instructions to see the pictures.

OOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPSSSSSSSSSSS!!

So I am officially the worlds worst blogger. Tomorrow will mark a year since I followed Melissa Chapman’s advice and started this blog and I have under ten posts so far. Wow…I don’t even know what to say at this point. So I will start getting on it by updating current things and then try to work back for some of the stuff we neglected to share. I am seriously embarrassed!

And, on top of it, I have not been reading others even though I am the self proclaimed blog stalker! I finally caught up on Becka’s only to realize she tagged me (look at me using blog lingo like I am a regular!) in April. Again, WOW. I literally have no words. I am not even going to stress about catching the rest of the stuff up, but the least I can do is post my reply to Becka’s challenge. Thanks for thinking of me, girl. You obviously had more faith in me than was warranted! Ha!

1.) Four Jobs I have had:
Nanny (even went on a free trip to Cayman Islands)
Foster Care Social Worker
Therapist in CBU Counseling Center
Family Teacher in group home

2.) Four movies I have watched more than once:
Strange Brew (pretty sure my sis and I are the only people who have watched it more than once)
Sleeping with the enemy
Any Denzel movie
Little Mermaid

3.) Four Places I have lived:
Phoenix, Arizona
Hillsboro, KS
Wichita, KS
Tallahassee, FL

4.) Four TV shows I watch/watched
Growing Pains
Alias
Little People, Big World
Jon and Kate Plus 8

5.) Four Places I have been:
Grand and Little Cayman Islands
Victoria Island, BC (yes, my globally minded community, that is it for me so far out of the USA)
New York City, New York
Hilton Head, South Carolina (best vacation spot ever; sorry Aaron you weren’t there!)

6.) Four people who email me regularly:
Bethany Ericson
Pam Neighbour/ She Community at Mosaic
Our prayer chain at church
My Aunt Melissa (who should disown me due to my lack of emailing back!)

7.) Four of my favorite foods:
Is Diet Pepsi a food ?(currently on a fast from it til after Ruthie’s wedding, thank you!)
Shrimp and bacon club at Cheesecake Factory (Thanks T!)
Anything Taco Bell
Bakers grilled cheese

8.) Four Places I would like to visit:
England (Only answer of yours I changed, Becka!)
Paris, France
The Bahamas
Venice, Italy

9.) Four Things I am looking forward to in the coming year:
Finally being able to focus more on ministry in my job
Becomming volunteer staff at Mosaic
Ruthie Pie’s wedding
Reconnecting with friends and family we have neglected…which is about everyone

Had to put a pic in to help make up for not responding earlier. Does that help, Becka?

Okay…now for my first tagging (is that the right word?). I tag Lindsey (if no one has yet), Kyle Smith (are you reading my blog still, Mr!?!), and my sister Jen.  Can’t wait to read!

Our Lindsey

Our family just returned for a weekend up in Northern California (Stockton to be exact) where we witnessed the beautiful wedding of our adopted family member Lindsey Cooper (Sorry, Coop, had to use the name one last time!).  It was really nice but before I tell you about it and show you pictures, let me tell you a little about our Lindsey and why we love her so much.

Lindsey has been a huge blessing to our family from day 1….literally. I first met her when I began my job as an RD and she was one of my brand new RAs. Jim was still in Florida so I was single momming it with two little girls and an apartment empty of most everything except a futon and card table (thanks, Joe and Tiff!).  Even on the first day of meeting her,  Lindsey pitched in and not just as an RA doing her job, but as a servant helping where ever needed. Just as she does to this day, she would sense a need and be on it before I even realized the need myself. She has cleaned my house, Lancer Arms apartments, my children’s faces, butts and everything else more times than I have. I think she has moved more furniture in Lancer Arms than I have too and she was only there for a year! She also makes amazing food!

These are just the physical, tangible things that Lindsey does.  And, while they are great and most helpful, they aren’t even what she is best at.  Relationally, she is a mentor to me in so many ways.  First of all, when Lindsey starts going on about how wonderful someone is, you gotta take it with a grain of salt. She loves everyone…a lot.  She is by far the biggest fan of everyone she knows.  There isn’t really anyone she doesn’t like.  Even after a brief moment of justified frustration and venting about someone (Linds, I wish I would have taken my foot to the behind of the resident above you), she will turn around and tell you something good about them. This cynic (Again, I am a realist not a pessimist!) is striving to be more like Lindsey in that area.

Lindsey makes you feel so important when you are talking to her. She one of the best listeners, and she gives you her undivided attention.  If you don’t want to talk about something, stay away from her, because she either already knows it or she is gonna get it out of you when she asks how you REALLY are.  Then one of two things happens…she calls you on your crap or she consoles and comforts you, both with great love.

And she is so refreshing to talk to.  She always makes me see a new viewpoint or something else I have missed. And best of all, the girl is passionate! Mostly about her faith which is incredible. Again, I have learned so much from her and so have my daughters (once again, Linds, I am praying they turn out half as good as you!). Thanks you, Lindsey, for the woman that you are. I am so blessed to call you my sister and my friend. I love you. 

A few quick top 5 memories for our girl:

5) I am just going to say mini van. You take it from there in your memories, Lindsey (well Toni too since you drove her to the tow yard). Oh you too Raj! Didn’t your first date involve the mom van? Ha!

4) Res Life. Okay this is more of a group of memories with some highlights. First year 1: me not remembering which of you was Becka and which was Lindsey; awkward staff crushes and non side hugs; throwing furniture over balconies; Luke and James sarcasm; Leadership class; close community with Toni, Brooke, and Becka. Next we have your year caring for my home and I will limit that to 2 things: my vents and screening my door ( I am forever indebted to you for the day I hid in my room and you had my back..well, refer to memory number 5 and let’s call it even! Ha!). And then this last year has been so amazing. Here is to at least one more year!

3) Me coming home to find you and my daughter cleaning up her poop that she did not “feel like” depositing in the toilet. Isn’t that also the day the toilet overflowed causing a lasting phobia of flushing!?! Actually I have a lot of memories of you rightfully putting my children (and myself) in place. That day somehow sticks out though.

2) The day my girls and Adcocks kids stayed with you and after playing with a caught lizard, Sarah asked you if he had been sick because he threw up when she squeezed him.  I love that not only do you take the best care of my children, but you always share the highlights with me so I don’t miss a thing!

1) Not to do another group one, but I am gonna say our coffee dates/late night talks. We can talk for hours and usually do. Speaking of, when you get settled into the married life, can we have another long one? We are way overdue.

 Okay…on to the good stuff.

Let me start by saying that we are so excited for you both, Lindsey and Raj.  Raj, we have dropped the ball and not gotten to know you well and we are sorry. I am publicly declaring that we will be changing that very soon. Welcome to the family and thanks for loving Lindsey.

Now for the wedding details….AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, HONORING TO GOD, PERFECT LENGTH OF CEREMONY, GREAT FOOD AND LOTS OF FUN.  Here are some pictures with a disclaimer. It has been so long since I last blogged and they have changed the pic uploading. It took me an hour to get these pictures on her and I cannot figure out how to move them around (Chappy help!). I apologize! The first one was from the beginning of our friendship and the rest are self explanatory.

LA Staff 04-05

A Much Needed Retreat

If we are being honest (and really isn’t that the whole point of a blog?), the last couple of weeks (maybe even longer) have been rough. We have been ridiculously busy between sickness, work and our crazy lives that keep our world spinning. I (Laura) finally reached my breaking point last week. It felt like our family was running in opposite directions and our world has been spinning out of control. Jim and I have been so busy and worn out that we have nothing to give to those we serve, each other, or our kids. Part of it is simply because we have 3 kids 5 and under and part of it is that we do not know how to say no or slow down. So, we will be seeking the Lord and making some changes. For now, we came up with a very quick and much needed solution of taking our family away to Orange County for the weekend. We will start dealing with the rest after this time.

We have already seen such a difference in our kids and we still have a whole day left. They are in heaven!  No sitters (although they love the girls who watch them dearly!), no meetings for mommy and daddy, no mommy yelling at them to pick up their things, no one coming to the door, mom’s phone relatively text message free, and much more.

And talk about fun! We have laughed, played, watched movies, played games, had lots of chocolate (Sarah can be very manipulative! HA!), gone swimming in brisk winds, conquered slides and monkey bars galore, and much more. It has been amazing.

 A few of our highlights for the weekend:

• When I asked Sarah where she got the cute, little butt cheeks hanging out of her swimming suit, she replied (straightfaced and without missing a beat!) that they were on sale and she had a coupon. That is my girl!
• Em has turned the closet in our hotel room into a dressing room/elevator/hideaway from Aaron/and anything else a 3 year old mind can come up with when allowed to roam free! She has literally spent hours in there.
• Aaron has been very entertaining. He has been attacking Emily including a time when he carried a pillow much larger than him across the room and threw it on her. He then laughed hysterically! He also has been racking up the minutes on a toy cell. We have only understood one word that he says repeatedly which is “Spongebob.” He is a huge fan!
• Sarah has been very helpful with “the kids.” She has figured out that they are so crazy because they cannot climb as high as her so they have to do other crazier things. Made sense to her! She also offered to watch “the kids” so Jim and I can go out, but we decided not to take her up on the offer for now.
• Emily has been quite the entertainer. We have a lot of video footage of her this weekend dancing and singing (which she does a lot of right now and really needs to have as many people watching her as possible). Soon we will upload it so you can see her many talents. Kimie,  her offer to perform at your wedding still stands should you change your mind!
• Aaron learned how to dip his french fries in ketchup. He could not be more proud! 

 These are just a few highlights. We have basically just been enjoying ourselves with no other expectations than to be together. It has been so refreshing and healing for our family. This cheezy ad sums it up fairly well:

Hotel room to get away: $60

McDonalds food and entertainment: $12

Room service order of Molten Chocolate cake with ice cream and amazing hot cocoa: $19.50

Family memories (& something to blog about): PRICELESS

Yummy dessert ordered from room service!

Our Happy Valentine

The girls and I decided to do a blog about our favorite valentine, Mr. Jim Paulus. He really is the main man in our three lives, well, except Aaron, but he is our main little man! We could list 100 reasons why we love him but for now, we will just give our top 10.

10. He is so handsome (contributed by Em).

9. He is funny like when he makes funny faces and tells funny jokes (contributed by Em).

9. He takes us on fun field trips like to the zoo and the merry go round (contributed by Sarah).

8. He is sweet and handsome (contributed by Sarah).

7. He makes up silly games all the time to entertain Sarah, Emily, and Aaron…and Laura too! (Contributed by Laura)

6. He has the best laugh. Especially when he is laughing at something silly we did (contributed by Sarah).

5. He plans great dates for us!

4. He buys donuts for breakfast! (contributed unanimously by Sarah and Emily)

3. He always takes us to fun places that have slides.

2. He teaches my children what a father’s unconditional love is, thus helping them see a glimpse of their ultimate Father God’s love (contributed by Laura).

1. He treats us like princesses by bringing us flowers, telling us we are beautiful, he sings us songs and tells us he loves us.

Daddy got the girls roses for Valentines Day

Ruthie Pie and James

So I realize it has been way too long and I have a ton of things to catch up. But I am not even sure where to start on all of that. I thought I would do an easy one to get the blog ball rolling.

 A very big event happened in our life this past weekend. It actually really had nothing to do with us but was HUGE for us. Our dear friends (and adopted family members)Ruth and James got engaged. This has been an amazing journey that our family has been very privileged to observe and at times be a part of the last 3 years. I personally have learned so much from these two from their relationship not to mention all that both of them personally have taught me.

They really are part of the family and not just because Ruth takes me out for Mother’s Day and James makes more fun of me than Jim (which I never thought possible). It’s not even because Jim and I love them both so much and we all try to keep each other accountable (By the way, Ruth, the food log is coming!). It’s mainly because my children love them so much. James was the official first crush in our house for the girls (at least until Adrian and Bwad came along) and Ruthie Pie has long been the girls best “big” friend (not to be confused with their best little friend, Maddie Adcock). I am also pretty sure I have caught Aaron checking Ruth out and he seemed a little cold towards James yesterday while the rest of us were celebrating the engagement.

 All that to say, we can’t be more happy for Ruth and James. We are praying for you guys and we love you!

The proverbial middle child, Emily

While we have lots of blogs to catch up on, I decided it was time to do one about Emily. I have been writing this one in my head for a few weeks, but knew it was time to sit down and do it when I found this picture. It so perfectly sums her up. The dainty little princess with muddy feet. I love it!

Emily is definitely the entertainer of the family. She can have the four of us sitting around  watching her and laughing for hours. She is our little clown with her wit and her facial expressions.  It is funny though because most people, outside of our family and those closest to us, would never know that as she is incredibly shy. People at church probably think she does not know how to talk. It works out fine though as her sister loves to talk for her.

Once she feels comfortable though, watch out! Her love language is physical touch and she can cuddle like crazy. She always needs a hug and loves to just be held. One of her first and most frequent phrases is “Hold me.” I think she is the most loving and giving person I know. Once I tried to sneak her some candy while Sarah was in the shower. I told her, “Eat it quickly before Sarah gets out.” She looked at me like I was insane and said, “But I want to share it with Sarah.” She then went in and not only shared but gave her sister the largest piece. In fact, we have to help her stand up for herself or her sister takes advantage of her. For example, Sarah always gets to be the princess while Em gets stuck with the part of prince simply because she can’t say no!

Em is also incredibly sensitive to those around her. She is very observant. This means she is always the one to notice people and how they are feeling or doing. Unfortunately for her little heart, it also means she can get crushed by the smallest things. We often turn around and find she has slipped off somewhere to cry over how we have “hurt my feelings.” She will turn right around though and forgive you a second later.

She can be so easy going and carefree and even a tom boy at times (hence, the mud) but then other times she is 100% girly with her breath taken away by the smallest things in life (hence, the princess outfit). Have I mentioned that we love this girl!?

She makes the cutest observations and comments as well. Here are a few recent ones, “Daddy, water comes out of my eyes when I poop.” “Mommy, why is brown your favorite color? Brown is the color of poop.” “When it is time for me to go to Heaven, I am going to go up to God in a big bubble.”  There are a ton more that I cannot think of now. I gotta start writing them down!

So, I hope you are able to catch a glimpse of our Little Emily. She is such a huge blessing and we cannot wait to see what is ahead of her. We know we got a few laughs in store for us! Here are a few pictures of our girl.

Our Em posing

Serious Emily